Bahamas – Pink Strat [Album Review]

by oz on April 22, 2011

It’s almost Easter, so I figured I’d write about a dude with an Easter egg colored guitar.

Bahamas, aka Afie (pronounced AY-fee) Jurvanen, is a Canadian songwriter that has performed as sideman to Jason Collett, Amy Milan, and then formed a back up band and toured behind Feist for three years. In 2009 he released a collection of his own work in Canada with an album called Pink Strat (named after his guitar). Pink Strat garnered Afie nominations for the Polaris Prize (Canada’s Mercury Prize) and a Juno (Canada’s Grammy Award) for Roots/Traditional Album Of The Year. Goes to show that I’d much rather watch a Juno award ceremony than our own Grammys.

Pink Strat was finally released in the States and it’s a breezy summertime album with a sound falling somewhere between M. Ward and Jack Johnson. Makes sense since he’s signed to Jack Johnson’s label, Brushfire Records. If you’re celebrating the Easter weekend with good weather on your back porch with boat drinks consumed in priority by favorite color, or if you just need to be transported from the perils of office life to a much better place, I’d recommend picking up Pink Strat.

If you need more than my recommendation, here are some mp3′s and make sure to check out the video for “Hockey Teeth.”